


“I LOVE YOU.”

by 80SHYUCK



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Forbidden Love, Jaehyun is the prince, M/M, Past Relationship(s), but makes tae sad :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 20:09:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20020315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/80SHYUCK/pseuds/80SHYUCK
Summary: He holds the flower in his hand, eyes following its yellow pattern on its leaves before he takes his pointer finger and thumb, and lightly plucks one petal off. “He loves me.” He says quietly, the words escaping into the air, the breeze taking them somewhere else besides Taeyong’s mind.In which Taeyong and Jaehyun weren’t meant to be.





	“I LOVE YOU.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was rushed and not really presented well in my opinion, but I haven’t uploaded in a while, so I figured I’d write another JaeYong fic !! <3
> 
> Thank you for reading!!

Taeyong holds a flower—it’s pure white and pretty, tiny and delicate in his hands. The summer breeze dances against its petals, mimicking his hair slightly as strands rustle up into the wind. 

The fields are quiet and pretty, and Taeyong loves it. There’s no village here, no angry classmates pushing him around, no loud and obnoxious yelling from men loading up bunches of hay into a trailer hauled by two horses, no father telling him to cut wood for the upcoming winter, no chatter about the King and Queen, no Jaehyun.

That’s probably his favorite part of being in the fields alone—there is no Jaehyun. The Prince is no good anyway with his shining armor and heartstopping smile. Here, it’s peaceful. There are no Prince Jungs and likable dimples. Only flowers, the tree providing Taeyong with shade, and the rustle of its leaves.

But no matter what meadow Taeyong escapes to, whatever land he runs off to, or what tree he hides under, the thought of Jaehyun would never be able to leave the crestfallen abode of Taeyong’s mind.

He swears the Prince is the only thing he thinks about, swears the only dimples he thinks about belong to only one glittering man, swears the only toothy smile he sees belongs to one man, swears the only scent he smells is the expensive aftershave of the one man, swears the only thing he hears before sleeping is the calming words of that one man. 

Taeyong hates that Prince Jaehyun is that one man. 

He holds the flower in his hand, eyes following its yellow pattern on its leaves before he takes his pointer finger and thumb, and lightly plucks one petal off. “He loves me.” He says quietly, the words escaping into the air, the breeze taking them somewhere else besides Taeyong’s mind.

Jaehyun has always told him this. From the day they confessed secretly to each other under the stars, hidden behind one of the villages old abandoned cottages. From the day Jaehyun snuck Taeyong into the castle without any of the guards knowing. From the day he bought Taeyong one of the most expensive and prettiest jewels carved into a dazzling necklace, whispering “ _they resemble you.”_ From the day Jaehyun decided to leave forever. 

It’s a cruel expression of words. Someone can say it and mean it so so badly, yet say it again and not mean anything at all. 

Taeyong plucks another petal. “He loves me not.”

He thinks it’s sorrowful—the flower. It sits between his fingers looking up at him, feeling Taeyong pull it’s petals to console himself. Taeyong slightly feels bad though, removing the flower from its home in the meadow and tearing it apart for his own selfish use.

It’s beautiful though, and it reminds him of Jaehyun. White petals, pretty to look at, it's nice to be around, all and all. Except flowers don’t hurt Taeyong the way Jaehyun did. They may prick, but they never tell someone that they can’t see them again, flowers don’t tell people that they can’t even be merely seen with them. Flowers don’t leave. 

At this, Taeyong removes another petal, less confidently muttering, “He loves me.”

The breeze passes by again, combing through Taeyong’s hair and it makes him feel like it’s Jaehyun fingers, disentangling the knotty locks in Taeyong’s hair, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. 

He feels his whole body sink. He doesn’t know what to do, or what to say, even what to think about Jaehyun. He knows he misses him, it’s hard not to miss somebody as charming and as lovable as Jaehyun, especially when his dazzling blue eyes and glittering smile is plastered everywhere in his tiny village. 

Taeyong thinks that even if Jaehyun wasn’t the Prince, didn’t have barrels of riches, or didn’t have the shining armor he looks so brave in, Taeyong would still love him all the same. 

Taeyong would still cuddle up to him in an abandoned cottage, would still sneak into his old wooden house without his parents noticing, would still love him without a twinkling jewel dangling from his neck, would still love him forever. 

That’s what’s truly heartbreaking—Jaehyun wouldn’t do the same. 

He knows Jaehyun loved him, he knows Jaehyun snuck out every night to supply Taeyong’s family with enough food, he knows Jaehyun cared deeply enough to give him support and love on bad days. But he doesn’t know why Jaehyun stopped seeing him, bidding him farewell with a sour look and mean expression. 

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows. “He loves me not.” 

Maybe Jaehyun never did love him though, used him for comfort, used Taeyong to try to actually feel something other than pride, other than wealth. 

Maybe Taeyong doesn’t know Jaehyun the way he thought he did. 

Maybe it wasn’t enough. Was Taeyong not enough for someone like Jaehyun? Aren’t opposites supposed to attract? Do rags and riches matter that much? 

Perhaps Taeyong didn’t have the life Jaehyun thought he did. Sure, it was obvious Taeyong was an ordinary villager, dirt on every inch of his face and arms, trying to survive. But maybe Taeyong didn’t carry the right comfort Jaehyun wanted. Jaehyun wanted another home to escape to, somewhere he wouldn’t have to be Prince, wouldn’t have to end up the King, wouldn’t have to seem spoiled to his own people. Maybe Taeyong’s arms and eyes weren’t that special home. 

And finally, as if fate had planned this to mock Taeyong, the flower held only one more petal left. 

Taeyong’s now glossy eyes stared down at it, vision becoming so blurry all he saw were a mirage of colors. The pretty flower he had held for the past ten minutes sat sadly in between his fingers, whispering him these final words.

In his mind all he saw were blue—blue dazzling eyes he won’t ever get enough of. In his mind, all he felt was silk clothing between his fingers. In his mind, all he imagined consisted of that same Prince.

His fingers pluck off the final flower. 

In his mind, all he hears is, _“I love you.”_


End file.
